Shifting success to work for you: Navigating the world with an open heart center and swimming against the tide of a productivity at any cost culture.
In Human Design, wisdom doesn’t come from the defined energy, but from the white spaces in our charts.
Ra Uru Hu (channeler of the Human Design System) said it best when he said the white space is where we go to school.
Therefore, whenever I’m in my not-self over my worth, I go to open heart school where I am constantly reminded that open hearts have nothing to gain from trying to prove themselves.
So check your chart, if you have white space in the heart (ego) center (70% of us do), you have the potential to get really burned by societal pressures to perform and achieve.
TAKE THAT IN FOR A MINUTE. 70% OF PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE STABLE HEART ENERGY AT THEIR DISPOSAL. This means that the majority of people are getting sucked into competitive energy and ego energy that’s not theirs.
EXPLAINS A LOT, DOESN’T IT.
70% OF PEOPLE ARE OUT HERE THINKING, “I HAVE TO ACHIEVE TO PROVE MY WORTH.”
WE HAVE GOT TO GET OFF THIS HAMSTER WHEEL.
UNLESS YOU ENJOY TAKING SOMEONE ELSE’S RIDE (SEE HAMSTER CLINGING TO WHEEL FOR DEAR LIFE ABOVE), learning to balance that open heart center is critical for our wellbeing.
We’re not meant to compete in the same way that defined hearts do. Those blessed with their own heart energy typically have the built in self-worth that we have to build on our own.
So how does the open heart center work?
Our heart centers amplify the output from surrounding defined heart energy. We’re processing centers for heart energy, which explains why we can really get caught in the tailwind of our cultural obsession with action and achievement.
Hi, yes, I’d like off the hamster wheel please.
Balancing your open heart is possible!
First step is compassion towards ourselves and others. Second step is remembering with an open heart you aren’t here to prove your worth.
These are the only steps needed in heart school. Compassion towards yourself and the mantra, “I have nothing to prove.”
When you find yourself on the hamster wheel, feel free to give a quick reframe to the experience by saying thank you for teaching me that I have nothing to prove.
No one told us we’re out here amplifying the energy of others or that we can quickly get carried away while others can use that energy wisely. From my experience, it feels like failing at having value while others seem SO VALUABLE and it feels random. It can trigger my victim mentality and feel very, WHY NOT ME?*
No matter what we try, we can’t earn our way to heart energy if we don’t have it in our charts.
It is fully random that some people get heart energy and you and I didn’t. If you need something to blame, blame the stars. (Our bodygraph is a map of our energy and that energy outlined on the map is imprinted star energy. They just weren’t on heart energy when you were born and that is OK!)
It’s all going to be fine because we can shift our attention and awareness to where it can have an impact.
So my open heart friends - when we’re in heart school, we’re learning that we are already enough.
We may be in heart school for years, days, months, or on and off for our whole lives. We’re in heart school as much as we need until we integrate the knowledge that Open heart energy people aren’t here to base our worth on our productivity - it’s just not our energy!
So, open heart - you have nothing to prove. Now what?
Sitting down and defining success for ourselves, especially during testing times is a spiritual exercise that can bring greater alignment into your life.
If you didn’t have the media setting the agenda for you, what would success look like for you?
If you haven’t taken a step back from TV, magazines, social media anything that triggers you to act out of low self-worth, well- now’s the time. It’s super helpful to cut out the noise to connect back with your core essence.
If you need research proving that there’s nothing to gain from pushing yourself into endless productivity - I recommend finding these two books:
Yes, I read two books this summer to prove that I have nothing to prove, but if you’re anything like me and you need some solid validation and well-researched evidence about the benefits of shifting your success metrics - read one or both of these. Celeste Headlee’s research showing how our definition of success has been passed down and shaped through the generations genuinely blew my mind.
When we follow our own guidance and intuition and work on building our own self-worth foundation it can feel lonely, but know that we’re in the midst of creating new worlds. We’re making ourselves unshakeable. We’re swimming against the old ways and new ways of experiencing and experimenting can be met with skepticism by the greater collective.
Double-down on your own way!My life is infinitely more enjoyable when I am process-oriented. We’re on the vanguard when we decide to enjoy the moment and not just the end results.
While I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop getting caught in the achievement lifestyle completely, knowing that I have an open heart helps me become so much more aware when I am out of my alignment.
I am here to feel and experience, I gain wisdom and awareness by growing my daily ability to appreciate life.
If you’d like to explore this for yourself here are some reflection questions you can journal on:
How have your values shifted during this time?
How do you define success?
What lessons have you been learning lately?
How do I know when I am in my not-self?
*if you click on this link know this is my favorite commercial from college in the year 2005. Yes, it is enforcing gender stereotypes + objectifies women, but I definitely felt,(maybe still feel) like an Ashley a lot.